freaked out knobs....and some straight ones(new picture)

[sean k]

Okay,I'd like your opinions on this thing I'm going to do to make some cash at what I love doing.
 I've always been an artist and bend towards sculpture and I've also done quite a bit of prop making.Also my brother does loads of bronze sculpture so hes got all the knowledge of materials to use.This way I can supply a market I enjoy being a part of with what I actually do best.Add to this a good exchange rate and cheap electricity combined with a reliable postal service...why haven't I done this sooner!,so to cut a long story short I'm going to get knobs cast in pewter(modern equivalent have zero lead and lots of tin and zinc plus the antimony that makes it such a brilliant casting material for fine detail) and also get some boxes made in aluminium.
 The knobs will be anything from something shaped like a skull or have little skulls and cross bones on the top through to just plain stylish ones with rubber grips and paua shell buttons inlaid in the top.I'll most probably start out with about 6 or 7 types and go from there.The boxes will come a little later 'cause the set up costs are greater.Cost wise I should be able to do sets of 3 to 5 for $25 for plain castings up to about $50.00 for ones with extra detail like inlays and etching shipped to the continental USA.
 I'll do some drawings and post them later but for now I'd appreciate any comments.Oh and heres a picture of a few ideas!
http://photobucket.com/albums/y115/quickkiwi/?action=view&current=knobs.jpg

[Jered]

Hi, your idea sounds interesting but I'm a little confused about one thing. 3-5 knobs for $25 or boxes?
 Thanks, Jered

[robbiemcm]

Judging by what he said that seems to be the price of his knobs.

[NaBo]

Hmm, well I like the idea.  Pewter sounds cool, too, reminds me of midieval times

Like Jered pointed out, the price seems a bit difficult...  but I realize the huge startup costs and the inherent price difference in small production runs as opposed to a mass produced product.  I suppose perhaps, if they're really something to behold, there are a few who wouldn't mind treating themselves just once to some breathtaking knobs for one or two of their fav. pedals.  Unfortunately, at that price I'm not sure if it would go much beyond that, but that remains to be seen.  Shoot for 5 for 25 instead of 3 if you can... i think 5 bucks per knob or less is a big difference and more easy to digest psychologically (and justify to the others in our lives and potentially save from frightening instances of "you spent HOW MUCH on knobs?  But I NEED that money to buy more purses and shoes!!!   :evil:") ... (sorry Christine  ).  25 dollars shipped to Canada, and I think we'd probably have a deal- I'd just have to skip lunch a few days or something

Love the ideas though, hope to see them in action.  I think I'd have to buy at least one set.  oh and if you intend to have price breaks for quantity, for god's sake let people mix n match!!!  

One suggestion - Pearly transclucent spheres!  

[Processaurus]

Hey, you're a good drawer!

#5, "retro" looks more like kind of a medieval axe head, who wouldn't die to have those on their favorite overdrive.  "oh, maybe i'll turn up the "hurt" knob"...

[sean k]

Thanks guys,and yes knobs in clear acrylic resin,or coloured,with various things like bumble bees(they seem to like dying in my shed)and bits of metal shavings,etc, floating around inside are definitely on the cards.As well I'll be looking at having fine wood veneers inlaid and maybe even do some enameling...were talking top of the line hardware here.
 I've got the super hard wax set aside to start carving so they can be initially cast in bronze because the pewter guys need hard objects to work from and each run has a limit to how many items can be cast before the cast deteriorates.But the prototype can then be used again its just that I can only get 100 or so knobs per run and half of the costs are setup like making the molds.
 When I put those prices there I was thinking about what things actually cost in music shops,like 7 endpins in ebony with pearl buttons for acoustic guitar,and the other end of the scale which is cover costs and wait for huge sales to bring in the profits further down the line and centred those prices about half way but because I'm a socialist at heart I'll always aim at making them as cheap,pricewise,as I can get away with.I'll have some photos of my first modern stombox netsuke twirlers in the next week or so.

[NaBo]

WOW!  Sold.  Charge whatever you want, those are gold.  

Those boxes could be something else too... any idea of the cost for those?  Would you be able to rival hammonds pricewise?  By rival I mean come anywhere in the ballpark, cuz the shape is just killer man.  Raised stomp and recessed knobs = happiness.  Nice work.  Veeery nice.

[sean k]

Nabo,I might be able to get an aluminium sand cast without machining,holes drilled and tapped for bottom plate and any cleanup and filling,for $10.00 US or maybe a bit less,but you've still got to factor in postage,so you'd have to do all the work and it would only be suitable for painting and not for polishing.more expensive would be ,um,I think its called vacuum casting or centrifugal or something but it where they pore the mold and spin it to release any air trapped in the aluminium and these would be to a much finer tolerance and suitable for anodising or plating.Another option is to make them in lost wax style using mild steel which is extremely precise and will allow thinner castings with undercuts and all sorts of plating options.
 Anyways I'll be offering all the steps from straight out of the casting shop through to limited runs of mild steel investment cast enclosures so it should suit most peoples pockets.But I've finished working at some building I was doing so stuff should be coming out for viewing in the near future.

[NaBo]

Well... you've definitely gotten me excited  

Sorry to harp on the pricing a bit... as I'm sure many of us have experienced, its often difficult to justify the expenses of this hobby to significant others.

Your products look like they'd be perfect for that one pride-n-joy pedal that all of us want to build, both visually and sonically stunning.  Probably a few 'boutique' guys would bite, too.  And unlike a killer paint job, knobs can be removed and reused on anything- so its a good investment!

[ESPguitar]

This is cool!!!

Keep us informed!

RB

[object88]

Not to rain on your parade, but I'm much more of a conservative guy.  I like my boxes fairly square, and my knobs fairly round.  If you're metal working, I would be interested in a simple cylindric knob with a slightly rounded top, highly reflective surface, with a single "dot" pointer, and preferably with a set-screw for use on smooth pot shafts.  Unfortunately, I think those are already mass produced.

Having said that, they sell crazy knobs at Guitar Center / Musician's Friend, so there's obviously a market.  I wish you the best of luck and success in your project.

[ninoman123]

I want a bumble bee knob!

[vanhansen]

How about a box shaped like a casket.  Now that would be out there.

[sean k]

http://www.q-parts.com/
These are the guys supplying musicians friend and given there prices I think I'll find it very easy to compete,even with postage,and offer more shapes.I like the page for the Ringo knob as it details all the different inlays for the top and they look pretty good.Its kinda where I'm going but I'd definitely be into more styles and offer less "top dot" range as I'd encourage people to buy the "roughs" and do their own individual "individualizing" like inserting torquoise.
 Oh,and as for the man who likes clean,I'm a real fan of the Zen aesthetic myself and would also be doing a range of very simple shapes.
 And to be totally honest I'd be getting the knobs cast for about 3.00 each and given an exchange rate of 70 cents in the dollar then thats 2.10 US so if I was charging like Q parts do I'd be into about 300 percent and I doubt if my conscience would let me go there.
 Now I'm going off to do some more drawings of cleaner styles because they are just a matter of putting the wax on the lathe and turning up and will be much easier to get going on.

[sean k]

http://photobucket.com/albums/y115/quickkiwi/?action=view&current=moreknobs.jpg
Some cleaner styles and a few more boxes.

[ISC]

have you thought about casting wha shells ? could be a winner here

ISC

[sean k]

Yeah,I certainly have but I have to get a gear set worked out and that would probably be in bronze.Once thats sorted,oh,and nylon bearing set for the swivel bearings,then I'll think about enclosures.

[NaBo]

LOL, wow Sean... if your products end up even half as good as your drawings, you'll be in business for a looong time.  Too cool  

When you get the wah chassis idea on the roll, could you offer just the casing and bearingswithout the gears, too?  That'd be great for rigging up optical wahs with a shutter system.  Not that you don't have enough on your plate already...

[sean k]

Nabo,for sure,I'm not adverse to picking something up from the foundry and putting it straight into the mail.I actually like the idea of using a hall effect and op amp driving a fet or using a theremin circuit to drive a fet as well.Paul Crowther,of hot cake fame,is a local,who I haven't met yet,but he has helped me,over the net,with the hall effect thing and I may go and visit him soon with these drawings and my ideas to see if we can trade off work.But right now I've got drawings in hand and am going to the various foundries to get more of an idea of specifics before I start into moddelling up the enclosures.To that end I went out and bought half a pound of sculpy which is a moddelling clay type substance which is put in the oven to bake and harden.My brothers right up on the use of all these various moddelling materials as different metals casting require differnt approachs to ,um,whats the word....,blanks.I almost bought a wood lathe and some chisels the other day to get straight into doing some fuzz face cloner boxes but held back as my intuition told me to wait.Maybe I'l find a wood turner today to do me the blanks ready to wax and sculpy over.Thanks for your interest Nabo...I'm inspired to go for it.

[sean k]

Well,I went out today and checked out the foundries and they weren't much interested in small runs,of the boxes, though they were definitely keen for me to do it myself in the backyard.They all suggested I go the route of using zinc as it melts at about 450 degrees celsius and can be heated to that in a cast iron pot  using LPG to heat it,which I've already got each of,and that I pour into silicon molds.I also found out about a two pot putty for creating blanks that will take the heat required while the silicon sets around it which the sculpi will not actually do,it burns.But the knobs are a definite go ahead thing as the price is very reasonable in Pewter to start with though as they start selling I'll be able to go to zinc which is somewhat cheaper in large runs with die casting.The aluminium boxes may work out eventually if I do all the work myself and just drop of the mold boxes at the foundry ready for pouring as the making of the boxes with resin sands is the labour intensive part and its actually quite straight forward stuff to do.All this means is that you fellows who are interested will see the first knobs within a month but I'll have to generate sales to finance the somewhat more cash hungry startup into boxes.Meanwhile I'll be chasing up some zinc foundries to see whether zinc will work as a material for boxes and whether or not it even has the sheilding properties associated with aluminium,copper and steel.If anyone knows I'd appreciate the info.